The year was 900 A.D.; Walt Disney may not have even been around then but one thousand years before the man behind Mickey Mouse grabbed the spotlight, a French artist fathered a bronze brooch which interestingly resembles the famous cartoon character. Archaeologists at Sweden’s Lund Historical Museum where this recently found object is kept, revealed this. The object was unearthed at Uppåkra in southern Sweden.
The brooch ornament, though made of bronze, was probably used by the Iron Age woman to embellish her clothing. Other unusual pieces of jewelry, including a pail fob at the end and another necklace strung with 262 pieces of amber have been dug out at nearby sites such as Jarrestada.
The lion symbolism of the “Mickey Mouse” brooch, thus, would have conformed to the popular culture and beliefs of the time in Iron Age Sweden. The object’s charm, however, remains undiminished over the years.
The bronze brooch may remind modern viewers of Mickey Mouse. However archaeologist Jerry Rosengren from Lund University told Discovery News that it actually symbolises a lion.
Rosengren explicated that lions became a significant symbol to Scandinavian royals and warlords, especially after the introduction of Judeo-Christian teachings to the area. The Bible mentions lions 157 times. It was an important symbol even before the Biblical era as it stood for power, strength and victory in battle for some of the earliest Middle Eastern cultures.
A spokesman for the Walt Disney Company told Discovery News said,
Mickey has always been a timeless Disney character with universal appeal across the generations. This certainly reinforces that notion in a way we never expected.
Image Credit: discovery
